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City of Men

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City of Men (2008)

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Reviews Counted: 75

Fresh: 57

Rotten:18

Average Rating: 6.7/10

Consensus: Brutal and unflinching, City of Men is both a harrowing look at Brazil's favela life, and a touching tale of youths rushed into adulthood.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for violent content, language and some sexuality.

Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:Feb 29, 2008 Limited

Box Office: $242,655

Synopsis: Director Fernando Meirelles scored an unexpected hit with his disquieting 2003 feature CITY OF GOD. Subsequent years saw plenty of similar fare emerging from Brazil, and Meirelles even lent a hand... Director Fernando Meirelles scored an unexpected hit with his disquieting 2003 feature CITY OF GOD. Subsequent years saw plenty of similar fare emerging from Brazil, and Meirelles even lent a hand by contributing to the hit TV show CITY OF MEN. This big-screen adaptation of the show follows its two central characters, best friends Ace (Douglas Silva) and Wallace (Darlan Cunha), as they are unwittingly caught up in a vicious gang war in their dilapidated favela. Ace struggles with his newfound responsibilities as a young father while Wallace searches for his errant father. Meanwhile, a brutal turf war breaks out around them, and Ace is reluctantly swept up into one of the gangs after threats on his life leave him with little choice but to join in the mayhem. Paulo Morelli's film is a pacy, bloody thriller that pays warm tribute to a diverse cross-section of American directors including Quentin Tarantino and Michael Bay. Bullets zing across the screen, heavy artillery is deployed at all times, and Morelli makes great use of the twisty favela streets during some frantic chase sequence. Silva and Cunha, who both had roles in CITY OF GOD, carry the picture with impressive ease, and while CITY OF MEN isn't an official sequel to Meirelles's lauded picture, it does serve as a neat continuation of that film's unshakable portrayal of the violence that has beset so many young lives in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. [More]

Starring: Darlan Cunha, Douglas Silva, Jonathan Haagensen, Rodrigo Dos Santos

Starring: Darlan Cunha, Douglas Silva, Jonathan Haagensen, Rodrigo Dos Santos, Camila Monteiro, Naíma Silva, Eduardo BR, Luciano Vidigal, Vitor Oliveira, Vinicius Oliveira

Director: Paulo Morelli

Director: Paulo Morelli
Screenwriter: Elena Soarez
Story: Paulo Morelli, Elena Soarez
Producer: Andrea Barata Ribeiro, Bel Berlinck, Fernando Meirelles, Paulo Morelli
Composer: Antonio Pinto
Studio: Miramax Films

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Release:

Jul 1, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • In this long-awaited follow-up to his Academy Award(R)-nominated film CITY OF GOD (2003, Best Director, Fernando Meirelles), producer Fernando Meirelles returns to the Brazilian favelas to tell an inspiring tale of friendship and family on the gritty streets of Rio de Janiero. Growing up in a culture dictated by violence and run by street gangs, teenagers Acerola (Douglas Silva) and Laranjinha (Darlan Cunha) have become close as brothers. With their eighteenth birthdays fast approaching, Laranjinha sets out to find the father he never met, while Acerola struggles to raise his own young son. But when they suddenly find themselves on opposite sides of a gang war, the lifelong friends are forced to confront a shocking secret from their shard past. Featuring stunning cinematography and a fascinating behind-the-scenes bonus feature, CITY OF MEN is an even greater experience on DVD.
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for City of Men

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    Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
    04/23/09
    Tom Meek
    Boston Phoenix

    A must for fans of the TV series, as it continues the unique formula of mixing fun, fantasy, fear, and frankness, for 2 young men barely surviving to adulthood together.

    Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com | comment Comment
    12/17/08
    Nora Lee Mandel
    Film-Forward.com

    It's all perfectly serviceable -- but it wants for freshness and vitality.

    Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Xan Brooks
    Guardian [UK]

    Both Silva and Cunha (who reprise their roles from the television show) do make compelling leads and their performances add needed weight and shadings to their underwritten characters.

    Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Jeff Vice
    Deseret News, Salt Lake City

    Where City of God provided a heartbreaking insight into Rio's flavelas and gang warfare . . . this film ends up more like a standard buddy movie set against a gangland battle scene

    Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
    09/18/08
    Andrew L. Urban
    Urban Cinefile

    It's decent enough but I just wish that it tried for something a little more fresh.

    Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
    07/22/08
    Austin Kennedy
    Sin Magazine

    The likable performances, hot, sweaty atmosphere and decently mounted action scenes make this entertaining fare.

    Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
    07/18/08
    Ian Freer
    Empire Magazine

    An engaging and frequently tense drama with terrific performances from its two young leads.

    Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
    07/18/08
    Matthew Turner
    ViewLondon

    Despite considerable dramatic interest, Morelli's loose, lengthy structure makes it a labor to hang in with.

    Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
    07/05/08
    Jules Brenner
    Cinema Signals

    More bronzed bodies bearing arms leading to inevitable shootouts delivered via a washed-out, hand-held digital style pulsing along to an infectious Latin beat.

    Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
    04/02/08
    David N. Butterworth
    rec.arts.movies.reviews

    The film's overriding message that love and friendship exist under the most hopeless of circumstances is what makes City of Men such a worthy, compelling drama.

    Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
    03/26/08
    Ken Hanke
    Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

    Some might perceive City of Men as a slow film, while others could reasonably argue that Morelli is taking more time to develop characters.

    Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
    03/25/08
    KJ Doughton
    Film Threat

    [One] plotline ends with a twist that doubtless felt more authentic in the halls of a film school than it would on the streets of Rio de Janeiro.

    Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
    03/16/08
    Matt Brunson
    Creative Loafing

    It plays like a Western, and the violence, while plentiful and visceral, rarely has the kind of raw impact you want in a movie such as this. Morelli keeps most of the blood off-camera.

    Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
    03/14/08
    Roger Moore
    Orlando Sentinel

    ...not a sequel to City of God, although it sometimes feels like a junior-varsity version of the older movie.

    Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
    03/14/08
    Philip Martin
    Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

    An efficient, simply told story...in spite of the plot's neat contrivances and the movie's determination to pull some edifying nugget from the heartbreak and hopelessness at its core.

    Full Review Source: Style Weekly (Richmond, VA) | comment Comment
    03/12/08
    Thomas Peyser
    Style Weekly (Richmond, VA)

    [It has] a real ring of authenticity in every scene.

    Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
    03/10/08
    Richard Roeper
    Ebert & Roeper
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Morelli's film is most effective at its most documentarian, when it focuses on street detail and the casual, everyday behavior of the people inside the desperate favelas.

    Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
    03/07/08
    John Beifuss
    Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

    May mean well, but its soapy plot and comparatively flabby execution make for a surprisingly tepid combination.

    Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
    03/02/08
    Frank Swietek
    One Guy's Opinion

    What becomes interesting is how Ace and Wallace, who have managed to stay outside the violence for the most part, start to get pulled in once they uncover information about their fathers.

    Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
    03/01/08
    Beth Accomando
    KPBS.org
     
     
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    Latest News for City of Men

    February 28, 2008: Exclusive Photos: City of God Sequel City of Men
    Two young men struggle to stay afloat amid the drugs, violence, and poverty of Brazil's slums in the big-screen spin-off of Fernando Meirelles' critically acclaimed 2002 film,... More...

    February 28, 2008: Critics Consensus: Semi-Pro is Semi-Good, Boleyn Girl Not Quite Movie Royalty
    This week at the movies, we've got hapless hoopsters, snouted socialites, and scandalous siblings. What do the critics have to say? More...

    November 23, 2007: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
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